The Lion's Star
by Soy
Summary: The sequel to “The Hollow’s Child.” Rose, still reeling from her brother’s death, gets thrown into an even stranger situation. Time travel galore.
1. Chapter 1

**Author: **Soy

**Title:** The Lion's Star

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.

**Summary:** The sequel to "The Hollow's Child." Rose, still reeling from her brother's death, gets thrown into an even stranger situation. Time travel galore.

**Note:** I just want to get this premise chapter out there so I can get into the bulk of this story, which has been haunting me for awhile, and is mainly visible near the end of Chapter 12 of "The Hollow's Child."

**Another Note:** Please review!

**Chapter 1**

There was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?"

The door opened slightly and her Aunt Ginny popped her head into the room.

"Rose, will you be staying for supper again?"

"Yeah." Rose nodded. "If that's alright."

"Of course it's alright. I'll tell Kreacher to set an extra plate."

Her aunt retreated and shut the door, leaving Rose and her cousins, Lily and Albus, on their own in Lily's room.

"This makes, what, two weeks in a row now?" Albus asked from where he sat in one of the pink beanbag chairs on Lily's violet carpet, thumbing through a book for his Auror studies.

"Not nearly," Rose, on a matching beanbag chair, shook her head and placed her finger in the book she had been scanning – one of Lily's N.E.W.T. study guides, this one for Potions – saving her place before she looked up at her cousin. "There were a couple nights in there I ate out with Clothilde. And Maria had me over at her place once."

"Uh huh." Albus rolled his eyes.

"I think it's nice Rose's spent so much time here this summer," Lily said as she watched her own reflection in the mirror. She was twisting her red hair up into a knot on top of her head. "Family togetherness and all that."

"Yeah," Albus snorted. "Only Rose is so together with our family, she's hardly seeing her own."

Rose frowned at Albus. He knew perfectly well why she'd thus far chosen to spend the bulk of her summer at her cousin's house on Grimmauld Place. Ever since learning that her mother had been keeping secret the fact that Rose had another brother – going so far as to use a memory-altering charm on her – Rose had stayed away from her parents' flat. Except for when planning and attending her brother Hugo's wedding two weeks before, Rose had not seen her immediate family at all since discovering the truth. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She'd seen her father a few times, meeting up with him for lunch and making excuses for her chronic absences. But she hadn't seen her mother. She'd told her parents that she'd be staying the summer in Oxford, at her Aunt Muriel's house on Botley Road, to prepare for second year examinations. And it was true, she had been spending her nights there. But she'd been spending her days in London, at her job as a fitting room attendant at Primark, and taking her evening meals with her cousins and their parents. Of course, her cousin Lily had no idea why Rose was upset, as she knew nothing about the secret-brother, who was also her own. Her mother and Lily and Albus' father. They had made Tom. Tom. Who was now missing.

Albus thought Tom was dead. Which made sense, as the last time any of them had seen him, he had been hit by a killing curse cast by Scorpius Malfoy and thrown into a lake filled with inferi. But Rose had not felt Tom's death as she'd thought she would, and so she'd begun to suspect that Tom was not, in fact, dead. She hadn't wanted to tell Albus this – he'd never liked Tom – but she had confessed her suspicions to Malfoy. Malfoy, who was now her boyfriend, maybe. Probably not. He was in New York, training to be a mediwizards, and she was here, in England. They barely saw each other and hardly talked. But Malfoy had listened to her when she'd told him what she thought about Tom and so he had been on the look out for any signs that the boy might still be alive. When he'd actually found something – medical records from a Japanese hospital that matched Tom's profile completely – Rose had not been as surprised as perhaps she should have been. She'd know, felt that her half-brother was still alive.

"Do you think I should wear the blue dress with the white flowers or just jeans and the lacy green shirt?" Lily was walking over to her bed where the two outfits she'd described were laid out.

"And what are you doing tonight?" Rose asked, removing her finger from the book and shutting it for good.

"I'm not sure exactly… Sammy said we'd probably just walk around Diagon Alley-"

"Sammy?" Albus asked, shutting his own book. "Sammy who?"

"Sammy Gudgeon," Lily said in a tone that dripped with 'obviously.'

"Since when are you dating Sammy Gudgeon?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "Since he asked me out a couple days ago when I bumped into him at Flourish & Blotts. He's been getting very handsome over the summer. Even has a beard now. Now, dress or jeans?"

"A beard?" Albus echoed. "No, I won't have my sister going out with anyone with a beard."

"Well too bad you have no authority over what your sister does," Lily humphed. "And anyway, it's not a full blown beard, nothing like what Uncle Bill has, just a little shagginess. It's very attractive."

"Oh, well that's loads better-"

"I like the jeans," Rose interrupted her cousin.

"Thanks _Rose_." Lily said, emphasizing the fact that her brother was absolutely no help.

Rose was in fact used to this over-protectiveness from her own brother, Hugo. And Hugo's marriage hadn't helped to calm him down any. At the wedding he had threatened to beat up Malfoy if he ever hurt poor baby Rose. Too bad Rose hated being treated like a baby and so had threatened to beat Hugo up right back.

Still, Albus may have a point when it came to Lily…

"You've been dating a lot lately," Rose said in the most nonchalant voice she could muster.

"Yeah, I suppose I have," Lily nodded. "Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"No, I suppose not…"

Still, Lily had been going through boys with great rapidity, especially in the last month. Or, maybe it was just that Rose had only seen her cousin in the last month, as previous to that Lily had been away at Hogwarts.

"Now, if you two don't mind giving me some privacy…" Lily motioned towards the door.

Rose and Albus both stood, Albus offering some more brotherly words of advice as he went, and made their way out into the hall.

"I don't like it," Albus said, shaking his head. "She's gonna earn herself a reputation."

"No she's not," Rose laughed. "Just because she's dating around doesn't mean she's sleeping around."

Albus blanched.

"You don't think she's sleeping with all these boys, do you?"

"No!" Rose couldn't believe her cousin sometimes. Of course she couldn't help but wonder if some of Albus' fretting over Lily's 'promiscuity' had to do with his own more bottled sexuality. Rose had only a few months ago discovered that Albus was gay, a fact her cousin did not like to discuss, ever, despite the fact that the two of them were very close. "You worry too much."

"No, I worry exactly the right amount. Really. It's not just the dating, Lily's absolutely lost control this summer. She's been going out every night, coming home super late, and she's barely studied at all for her N.E.W.T.s-"

"She doesn't take them 'til next May-"

"One can never be too prepared."

Of course Albus would say that. He had studied hard and had received top marks, all so that he could get accepted into the Auror training program.

"Supper's ready!" Aunt Ginny's voice echoed up the stairs to where they stood on the top landing.

"Alright! We'll be right down!" Albus shouted back. Then he pounded on Lily's door. "Food!"

"Coming!" Lily called back.

They waited for her on the landing, perhaps unconsciously liking the solidarity of all showing up to dinner together. When Lily finally did emerge a few minutes later, looking very put together in her outfit with some cosmetic charms clearly in place, they all thundered down the many flights of stairs together to get to the basement kitchen.

Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were already sitting at the table, chatting about their days, as Rose and her cousins took their places in front of the plates of food Kreacher had prepared. Rose always knew exactly which plate was meant for her because it typically held less food and was usually chipped. Kreacher, for whatever reason, had never liked Rose very much.

Her aunt and uncle altered their conversation to include the new arrivals and it turned into a very nice dining experience. Rose always enjoyed spending time at Grimmauld Place, which was perhaps why she had spent so much time there recently.

Towards the end of the meal, just as everyone was laughing and getting full, Lily abruptly rose, looking at the clock on the wall near the head of the table.

"I've gotta get going-"

"Hold it." Aunt Ginny said, throwing out her arm. "And just where are you going?"

"I'm meeting a friend-"

"And what about your studying, young lady-"

"Muuummm, there'll be plenty of time to study later-"

"That's what you've been saying every night-"

"Because it's true! Exams aren't 'til May! And it's only July!"

"You say that now, but come school, you'll be focused on classes and Quidditch and I know you won't have time to study-"

"No! I'll make time I promise-"

It was a very awkward fight to be overhearing. Albus caught Rose's eyes and mimed a 'what can you do?' expression that Rose wasn't completely sure she understood. Albus was probably on the side of his mother, though, anything to keep Lily from going out on another date.

"Ginny," her uncle finally interrupted. "She can't study tomorrow."

Lily smiled broadly at her father, but Aunt Ginny frowned.

"Everyday we say 'tomorrow'-"

"This time we'll mean it." Uncle Harry looked solemnly at his daughter. "Lily, you go meet your friend tonight, but starting tomorrow you're going to be on house arrest-"

"But that's not fair!"

"You're mother is right, when school starts up you'll be too busy to study for your exams. And you're not dropping Quidditch. So, as far as I see it, you've had two good months of free time, and tomorrow you'll start focusing on your future."

Lily was close to seething.

"Fine." She finally said through gritted teeth, undoubtedly already planning to disregard this new rule tomorrow. So with another, pointed, angry look at her mother, Lily turned and left the kitchen, stomping up the stairs and slamming the door to the house so loudly they could hear it from the basement.

"That girl…" Aunt Ginny finally sighed.

"Is a lot like you at that age," Uncle Harry said playfully.

"Not at all!" Her aunt cried, but Rose could tell that the tension was broken.

For now, at least.

Tomorrow night would probably be a different story.

****

Arriving home to the Botley house had become a strange experience for Rose. Every time she stepped into the familiar entryway she got a feeling in the pit of her stomach that maybe this time things would be back to normal again. But then she'd walk further inside, see the living room that Tandi had redecorated – much to Aunty Muriel's chagrin – or see Tandi, her new roommate, and her cousin James, Tandi's boyfriend, eating in the kitchen and it would strike her, again, that Tom no longer lived here. This evening, walking in, the house was completely silent. Tandi must be working the night shift again. Now that Tandi was a full fledged Auror – having graduated from the training program at the end of May – she wasn't around as much anymore. Rose assumed this would change when Michaelmas term came around, as Tandi was still a registered student in her year at Hertford College, but it was lonely in the meantime.

Always conscious of not wanting to wear out her welcome with her cousins, Rose never stayed too late at Grimmauld Place. Instead she had become quite used to returning to her big empty home and passing the time alone until getting up for work the next day. It all sounded very sad when she thought about it like that, but it wasn't, really. Rose liked the alone time. It gave her plenty of time to read. Having been raised by a Muggle-born mother she had grown up with Muggle literature, and found it quite enjoyable to pass time with.

So Rose settled into a comfy living room chair and picked up a book lying on the floor nearby. _The Sun Also Rises_ by Ernest Hemingway. Exactly where she had left it the night before. And as Rose delved into the story once more she didn't feel quite so alone.

****

Hermione Granger considered herself a sensible woman. She was clever, had a good job, a great husband, and two beautiful children. Well, technically, she had three children. And that was what racked her brain at night when she tried to sleep.

She had not seen her first son in years. Not since that day she had run across him in a London playground. And she had not been back to that playground since. She would be content never to think about that day again, and had nearly pushed it from her mind when her daughter Rose had brought it up, out of the blue, months earlier. Since then she and Rose had barely spoken. Now even her pleasantries were rejected by her daughter. Her daughter who had not been home in weeks. It hurt. Painfully and deeply. And yet Hermione could not blame her daughter. She had been wrong, keeping it a secret all these years.

And it still was a secret. Ron didn't know, nor did Hugo, nor, thankfully, did Harry. And she didn't want them to find out, because whatever anguish the truth caused her, it was her alone who had to suffer. It was her fault, her mistake, and she did not want to burden her loved ones with it.

"'Mione, can't sleep?"

Her husband Ron rolled over in the bed next to her, tossing his arm around her as he did and pushing his front against her back. He sounded half asleep still and Hermione knew he would be out cold again soon.

"Thinking about work. Big project coming up."

"Wanna talk about it?"

But she heard his snores start up again before she even opened her mouth.

It would be her own private suffering. That was how she wanted it. Her own fault, her cross to bear.

She took a deep breath and tried to squeeze her eyes closed. She tried, desperately, not to think about Tom.

****

"It's awful is what it is!" Lily was practically screaming from behind the blue curtain of her fitting room.

"Uh huh," Rose nodded. While she liked when her cousin came to visit her at work, she was always nervous that her superiors would notice that her full attention was not on her job and that she would then be promptly fired. So Rose was folding a stack of discarded clothes and placing them neatly into a carriage beside the curtain to Lily's room.

"What do you think of this?" Lily's voice was a completely different tone as she pulled back the curtain and stepped out of the room. She was wearing an orange plaid mini skirt and a flowy crème blouse.

"Very…" Rose searched for the right word. "Retro?"

"Well I wouldn't wear these paired together of course," Lily said as she looked down at herself. "But individually I like both pieces a lot."

Lily gave a twirl. Rose had to admit the clothes looked nice on her. She knew that she herself could never pull those items off.

"Wait a tic," Rose said as she finished folding a pretty blue jumper. "What are you even doing out? I thought today was the day you started studying."

Lily shrugged as she retreated back into the fitting room.

"My parents are both off at work," she said through the curtain. "They can't force me to stay home if they're not home themselves."

Rose knew that this was not literally true, of course. She was sure her aunt and uncle could both ably perform a number of spells which would trap Lily in the confines of Grimmauld Place. It was merely that they had trusted their daughter to remain there on her own. Oh well.

"Do you think I could borrow some money to buy these?" Lily asked as she emerged from behind the curtain, wearing her regular clothes again. "I mean, I can pay you back in real money later, I just don't have any…" Rose watched her think. "Pounds? Quids? What do I say?"

"Sure," Rose smiled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. Her cousins had not been raised with the same amount of Muggle knowledge as she had been. "Here's twenty quid. You should get change back." Nothing at Primark was very expensive.

"Alright, and I'll owe you, what, twenty galleons?"

Rose had to contain her laugh. She would be turning quite a profit at that exchange rate. And she would have told her cousin this right then, but one of her manager's seemed to be looking at her, as if finally catching on that Rose had been chatting with the same customer now for near fifteen minutes.

"We'll work it out later," Rose said, and with that she pushed the pile of clothes down the narrow fitting room hall.

****

Rose was exhausted that evening. She was right, her manager had noticed her slacking, and had given her a proper reaming for it, and though Rose had worked double-hard to compensate for the rest of the day, she still felt worthless and anxious by the time she arrived, hours later, at the door of Grimmauld Place.

It was a funny door, one she had never exactly liked. The knocker was made of two snakes intertwined, something leftover from the old pureblood-proud owners who her Uncle Harry had – she didn't know the exact story, actually – inherited the place from. Not only did the snakes like to nip her fingers if she held on too long, but they also refused to open the door from the outside for her. Only the inhabitants could open the door from the outside, a fact Rose found tedious as she spent so much time here she may as well be a resident. The whole house was filled with creepy little enchanted things like the knocker. The living room was papered with the Black family tree, the stairway was permanently affixed with the portrait of that shrill and screaming woman, even Albus' room had some pictures which could not be pried from the walls. Most of them had been covered over. Albus hung Gryffindor tapestries and placards of the Auror doctrine over the Muggle posters of women on motorcycles (it made sense, now that Rose thought of it, that Albus was gay, as he had never liked those posters) to cover up what he could not take down. The only thing he chose not to cover, at his father's insistence he'd once told her, was an old photograph of a group of four boys. One of the boys looked very much like Albus. It was his grandfather, James, Albus has said. And while she knew that another of the boys in the picture was a Black son, the previous owner of the room, she did not know which. His name and picture had been burned off the family tree in the living room. Albus told her that he'd once asked his father about it, but his father had not wanted to say much. Sirius. That was his name. It was her cousin James' middle name. That was the only reason she knew it. It amazed her how her parents and her aunt and uncle shied away from telling their children about their pasts. There was so much she didn't know. At least, she knew nothing more than the typical History of Magic student, because they had been taught all about the second war against Voldemort in that class.

"Yes?" The door finally cracked open to reveal Kreacher. "What does the half-blood want?"

"I'm not a…" Rose took a deep breath and decided to let it go. "I'm here to see Lily."

"Upstairs," Kreacher said curtly, opening the door just enough for her to squeeze inside.

"Thanks," Rose grunted back, only because she knew she should be nice to house elves. Even when the house elves themselves were real prats. Then she started running up the stairs, all the way to the top, where Lily's room was.

She knocked on the door.

"Come in!" She heard from inside.

Twisting the knob and stepping into the room, Rose was confronted with an unfamiliar sight. Lily was studying.

"Oh don't give me that look." Lily said, shutting the book. "My mum said she'd quiz me at dinner."

"What subject?"

"Potions." Lily sighed. "I'm awful at Potions. I wanted to drop it after my O.W.L.s, but my parents made me keep it. I think they still think I'm gonna pursue a Ministry career or something. Boy, won't they be surprised."

Lily, Rose knew, had no interest in the Ministry. She couldn't fault her cousin there, she hadn't been interested in wizarding bureaucracy either. However, the fact that Lily was planning on having a professional Quidditch career did alarm Rose a little. While Hugo might be doing just fine – he'd landed a spot at Puddlemere United – Rose knew how difficult it was to get drafted into professional Quidditch. Lily needed a backup plan. Just in case. And doing well on her N.E.W.T.s would certainly help her.

"Here, I can help you'd study if you'd like." Rose walked over and sat down on the bed next to Lily, taking the book from her hands. Lily had been looking at a page instructing how to make Liquid Death. "Is this really where you want to start?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "I just opened the book up to any page. Ugh, it's awful."

"It's tough, yeah, but if we go through it step by step- If you understand the theory-"

"Yeah, I know, theory is very important." Lily cut her off, jumping off the bed. "So, those clothes I bought today from your store, I was thinking about them… Are you sure they look alright?"

Before Rose knew it, Lily was across the room, pulling on her new outfit and once more modeling it for Rose.

"I mean, the orange in the skirt, it doesn't clash too much with my hair?"

"No, it doesn't," Rose shook her head. But her tone did not cover her annoyance at being cut off earlier. She'd only been trying to help Lily. Why was her cousin so hesitant to listen?

Lily, of course, picked up that Rose was irritated, but of course missed why.

"You want me to pay your money back-"

"No, that's alright, you can pay me back later-"

But Lily was already distracted, searching through drawers for the money, chatting about her new outfit and her date with Sammy. She'd decided that she didn't really fancy him, just his beard. Meanwhile, Rose looked down at the open page in front of her. Potions had been her favorite subject. Professor Slughorn had been a great instructor. Predisposed to her, really, because he liked her mother, but still, they'd gotten on well from the beginning. And she'd learned a lot in his courses.

The door opened then, interrupting Lily's chatter and Rose's thoughts, and Albus stalked silently into the room and plopped himself down into one of the beanbag chairs.

"What's with you?" Lily asked as she handed a small sack containing clanking coins to Rose.

"Lonnng day." Albus sighed. "What are you wearing?"

"Clothes." Sneered Lily.

"They look awful."

"Oh. Ha. Well, then, cheery, you can get out of my room. Or," Lily's tone indicated a change of thought, "maybe you can help me study-"

"No thanks-"

"Oh come on Albus, you're great at this kind of stuff-"

"No, I'm too tired for this-"

"Alllbusss-"

Rose retreated into her thoughts again as she stuck in the money into the pocket of her jeans. She'd used an expansion charm on the pocket, so that it could hold her wand and her wallet and whatever else she wanted while she was at work. It had been a bit difficult, but very worth it.

"Fine, one question-and-answer session." Albus declared, giving in. And then he added, for good measure. "And that's it."

Lily flashed a satisfied smile, glad to have gotten her way – and Lily always seemed to be getting her way – and then listened as Rose and Albus took turns asking questions. She barely answered any.

About an hour later, the three of them were called for supper and made their way down to the basement kitchen eager for food. After her parents mocked Lily's outfit just as Albus had done, they all sat down to eat.

"What should you never add to thicken a draught?" Her Uncle Harry asked Lily as they finished off the summer salad Kreacher had prepared for them.

"Erm… Beetles?"

Her uncle gave an annoyed sigh – the answer had been any fresh vegetation – but her aunt pressed on.

"What's a ready-antidote for any poison?"

"How should I know that?"

"Because it's something you'll be tested on."

"Well… I don't… Milkweed?"

A bezoar, Rose thought. Though she'd known the answer to every question. Not that they were especially difficult questions. Just what had Lily been doing these past six years that she seemed to not know anything of basic Potions? Playing Quidditch. And dating, of course. Rose had never dated at Hogwarts, and she hadn't played Quidditch either. But she had been a top student. Rose looked over at her floundering cousin.

"You know," Rose said, interrupting the ongoing interrogation. "Maybe I could tutor Lily. I mean, I did alright in my own exams."

Her aunt and uncle smiled at her.

"That's very nice of you to offer, Rose," Aunt Ginny began, "but we couldn't possibly ask you to spend all your free time doing that. We know you're studying hard for your college work."

"Er, yeah, but…" She was not currently studying hard for her college work. She'd gotten a very nice mark on her prelims just a month earlier and now she was merely biding her time 'til college started up again. "I could still help."

"That'd be great!" Lily smiled brightly at her.

"We'll see," Uncle Harry said sternly. "If Rose is too busy, then Rose is too busy. You have to be responsible on your own to learn this."

"I know," Lily sighed. "I alone sit the exams." She said it in a tone that told Rose it was something she'd been told many times before and was merely repeating. Rose smiled. She liked her cousin's attitude. "How 'bout Rose and I get started studying now?"

Lily looked at Rose with eyes that said 'Please, let's just get away from them.'

"Alright," Rose nodded and stood.

As she and Lily made their way up all the flights of stairs to the very top of the house, Lily turned to her and muttered under her breath: "They act as if getting mediocre marks would be the worst thing in the world…"

"Only 'cause you're capable of scoring really well," Rose said, encouragingly.

"No," Lily shook her head. "It's 'cause they think James is some big failure and they don't want me to follow in his footsteps."

It was true that James was not exactly a success, but Rose would hardly call him a failure. Only two years out of Hogwarts now and he had a steady job working at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, just as Rose's father had done when he'd been just out of school. He was saving up money. And maybe someday he would choose a profession he was really passionate about.

"Your parents don't think that," Rose tried to sound comforting.

"Which part? That James is a failure or that I'm likely to be one too?"

Rose didn't answer her question as they both stepped into her room and found the study guide where they'd left it on Lily's bed.

Rose opened up the book up to the beginning, figuring that'd be a good place to start, but they didn't get very far before they heard the sound of the doorbell – a set of sharp chimes – echo through the house.

"Wonder who that could be…" Lily said idly, but Rose demanded that her cousin not get distracted and instead focus her attention back on the book. "Fine, task master…" Lily muttered, but she did as she was told.

It was only a few moments later that there was a knock on the door.

"Rose," Albus stuck his head into the room without waiting to receive permission to enter. "There's a package for you."

"For me?" Rose looked up, surprised.

"Yeah. Guess you've been spending so much time here that your post is starting to be delivered to this address."

Rose frowned at her cousin, but stood anyway and began to walk towards the door.

"I'll just take a break then, while you're gone-" Lily began.

"No," Rose shook her head with sudden authority. "Come with me and I'll ask you trivia questions as we go."

Lily gave an annoyed sigh, but did as she was told. As they descended down the stairs, Rose asked Lily basic questions off the top of her head – What was the function of lacewings? What was the best way to get the juice out of a sopophorous bean? What should a love potion smell like? – and Lily just guessed at the answers. Her cousin had a lot of work to do if she wanted to get even decent marks in Potions, Rose decided.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Aunt Ginny was standing there.

"Lily, you can't really think that a love potion always smells like flowers-" her aunt began, but neither Rose nor Lily heard they end of it as both of them stepped out onto the front step of the house with Lily firmly shutting the door behind them.

"Sorry," Lily said in answer to the shut door. "It's okay when you ask me questions, but when my mum does it just gets my goat."

"No problem," said Rose, who was really not paying attention to Lily, but instead to the fumbling gray owl buckling under the weight or awkward shape of the small brown paper wrapped package tied to his leg. When Rose tried to untie the package the owl hooted angrily at her. That was when she noticed the pen and scrap of paper clasped in the owl's beak. He wanted her to sign for it. "Alright, alright," mumbled Rose as she took what the owl offered and scribbled her name onto the paper. The owl examined her signature – as if checking it was hers, she wondered just how good a security owl this was – before offering her his leg.

As soon as Rose untied the small package the owl was airborne, not even waiting to receive a tip or snack. Well fine, Rose thought, be that way.

"Oooh what is it?" Lily asked over her shoulder.

"I don't know." Shrugged Rose. "No return address."

"Maybe it's something from Scorpius." Lily suggested. "Looks small enough to be jewelry. Oooh! Maybe he got your jewelry!"

Rose laughed off the comment outwardly, but her hands grew suddenly sweaty. The package was an appropriate size to be jewelry. She fumbled with the wrappings. At last, she untied the binding twine and undid the outer layer of brown paper to reveal, inside, an odd little silver necklace.

"It is jewelry, I told you so." Lily said from behind her, leaning closer now to get a look. "Huh. Weird, though."

And it was. Still holding the wrappings, Rose brought the package closer to her. The necklace was very odd. It looked like the inside of a tiny clock, all gears and cogs, and two tiny hands overtop it all, pointing in odd directions at nothing.

"'Huh' is right." Rose brought the necklace closer. The mechanism was thread through a silver chain.

"And no note?" Asked Lily.

"Not that I can see."

"Must be from Scorpius, then. He was never much for words."

It bothered Rose that Lily had once dated Scorpius Malfoy, not that she would ever tell her cousin this. Instead, she moved the brown paper wrappings so that they were supported entirely by one hand. With her other hand, she tentatively reached forward to touch the watch-like necklace.

"Don't touch it!" Lily shrieked.

"Why not?" Rose paused her finger in mid-air.

"Because… It might hurt it or something. This could be an antique."

Rose breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed.

"I think it's okay to touch, even if it is an antique."

"You're sure?"

"Pretty positive."

"Alright then. But if you ruin it, it's not my fault."

Rose looked her cousin in the eyes and raised an eyebrow. Lily merely shrugged back at her.

Again Rose moved her finger towards the delicate looking mechanism. She felt Lily grip her shoulder.

"Gently!" Lily said, not letting go.

"I'm being gentle!"

And Rose again resumed her very slow reach towards the necklace. When her finger finally got up close to it, Lily's hand still clenched to her shoulder, Rose half expected her cousin to break her arm off. But instead, Rose merely gave the necklace a gentle – she was trying so hard to be gentle – poke. At first nothing happened. Rose heard Lily give a sigh of relief as she squeezed her shoulder ever tighter, and Rose was about to laugh in return when all of a sudden the tiny hands on the mechanism started whirring round.

"What's it doing?" Lily asked. Her voice sounded faint.

"I don't know." Rose shook her head. She felt odd. A sinking feeling was taking its place in the center of her stomach. She should not have touched this necklace, she thought, suddenly.

And then the hands stopped moving. Rose realized that her cousin was grabbing her arm harder than ever, and it hurt now.

"You can let go now," Rose said, moving her free hand up to brush Lily away.

"Sorry," said her cousin. "I just got the worst feeling."

"Really?" This made Rose worried. If it was only she who felt bad then it was nothing, but if two of them at the same time had had some strange feeling…

"Let's go in and finish studying," Lily said. And she gripped the door handle. But the door did not budge. Lily grabbed it harder. One of the silver snakes reached out and bit her finger. "Ow!"

"Excuse me." A woman standing on the street below the stoop was staring up at them. "This is number twelve Grimmauld Place, is it not?" She had a heavy accent, French it sounded like. Rose knew she had never seen this woman before in her life.

"Yeah, it is," said Lily, still clutching her finger. "Who wants to know?"

"I-" The woman was clearly put off by Lily's angry tone. "I'm the tutor. Your father- He must've been your father, hired me to tutor you for your N.E.W.T.s-"

"Ugh!" Lily shrieked, violently, clearly upset now. "I don't need a tutor! We changed our minds! Get out of here!" The woman stared silently up at Lily. "Get! Scram!"

The woman frowned, then hurried down the street.

"Lily, that probably wasn't nice-"

"What do I care what's nice?" Lily said through clenched teeth. "They're so meddling, they can't just trust me. Exams are practically a year away!"

"I know, but they just want what's best for you-"

"What's best for me?" Asked Lily, so angry she was practically laughing now. She gripped the knocker again and again gave it a tug. "What's best for me is to get inside. This isn't funny Albus! Open the fucking door!" She tugged again and when a serpent again bit her finger, she slammed the knocker – and the serpent's head – hard against the wooden door, several times. Well, Rose thought, that must've gotten their attention inside. Even if Albus had locked them out, surely her aunt and uncle must've heard a knock with that much force behind it. "Open up!" Lily shrieked again.

"Lily, calm down-" Rose said, pulling her cousin away from the door. Just as she did, the door began to open. "See, here's-" But she could not finish her thought. Because standing before her was not her aunt, or her uncle, or Albus. It was someone she did not know. Someone she did not recognize. He looked to be about her age, maybe a year or two older, and definitely trying to look older than that. But he was a stranger, certainly.

"Hullo?" The boy who'd answered the door stared at them, squinting his eyes and examining them.

"Uh…" Rose was at a loss for words.

The boy tilted his head to the side. He looked vaguely familiar when he did that. Not so familiar as to be opening the door to her cousins' house, but familiar enough, as if she knew him from somewhere.

"And?" The boy drew out the word, as if trying to prompt their response. Next to her, Lily remained silent. "Is one of you the new tutor?"

"Er…" Rose didn't know what to say.

The boy, a mop of dark hair falling in front of his gray eyes, seemed almost amused by their silence. He was smirking, Rose realized.

"Yes." It was Lily's voice, and it was surprising. "She's the tutor."

Rose felt Lily's hands at her back, pushing her forward.

"Uh, yeah, hi." It was all Rose could do to stick out her hand. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, what her cousin was trying to pull, but she thought she might as well play along with it. This was a practical joke, that was all, she thought. Maybe James, with some disguise from the store, was putting her up to this.

The boy did not take Rose's hand. Instead, he stepped back into the house, turning to face inwards, and then opening his mouth and shouting at the top of his voice.

"Regulus! Your new tutor's here!" When the shout was done resonating through all of their ears, the boy turned back to Rose. "He'll be down in a second."

"Uh… Great?"

"Uh… Yeah." Again the boy smirked at her. She didn't like it. Not at all. And 'Regulus.' Of course the name was instantly familiar to her. Regulus Black, who'd stolen the locket, the locket that had made her brother Tom into a monster. But what Regulus had been long dead. And what would someone else named Regulus be doing in the house now?

"James, if you think this is funny…" Rose began, but she could not finish, as a frown stretched across the boy's face.

"James?" The boy shook his head. "I'm not James Potter."

"Sure," Rose began, nodding, playing along. "I bet-"

"I'm not," said the boy. "I'm Sirius Black."

"Oh," Rose heard Lily say from behind her. "Oh. Merlin's pants."

"Yeah," Rose nodded. "Shit."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author: **Soy  
**Title:** The Lion's Star  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.  
**Summary:** The sequel to "The Hollow's Child." Rose, still reeling from her brother's death, gets thrown into an even stranger situation. Time travel galore. In this chapter: Rose and Lily find themselves in the Grimmauld Place house when it was under Black ownership. Regulus is a snob and Sirius gets them drunk.  
**Note:** Thank you to the reviewers so far! Keep 'em coming! I love feedback.

**Chapter 2**

"Shit." It was the only word to explain how Rose felt right now.

"Am I missing something?" Sirius, a wry smiled on his face, was still standing in the doorway, staring at them. "I mean, have my parents already warned you off me completely? Ah well, guess that doesn't really matter. You won't be tutoring me, after all. You," Sirius gave a nod towards Lily, "look familiar."

"Do I?" Lily asked all the while pushing Rose further in front of her so she was blocked from view.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded. "A lot like a girl who was in my year at Hogwarts…"

"What a coincidence," Lily shrugged, and Rose could see, out of the corner of her eye, her cousin push all her red hair so that it hung down in front of her face.

"How old are you?" Sirius was focusing on Rose once more.

"Eighteen," Rose answered honestly, not realizing in the one second it took her to answer that she probably should've lied.

"And you look it too." She felt Sirius' eyes run her up and down. "Awful young to be a teacher-"

"Tutor," Rose corrected.

"Yeah, but my father hired you 'cause you're a teacher at Beauxbatons."

"Ah, oui, yes, that is true," Lily, from behind her, said. "But Rose here graduated super early. Right genius, she is."

"And you, hiding behind her, what are you, her assistant?"

"No," Lily shook her head. "No I'm her tutee. Her other tutee. I'm studying for my N.E.W.T.s."

"Just like Reg," Sirius said. "Speaking of which, that git should be down here by now. If you'll excuse me…"

And with that, Sirius stepped back into the house, and the heavy door slammed in their faces.

"Well that was rude of him," mumbled Lily.

"Lily!" Rose turned on her cousin, not sure whether to scream at the top of her lungs or whisper what would surely sound very odd to anyone eavesdropping, so her words came out like hoarse hisses through gritted teeth. "What are you doing telling him I'm the tutor?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea."

"A good idea? Really? A good idea would be- A good idea would be-"

"What? Can't think of one?"

"Just give me a minute." Rose took a deep breath. She looked down at the necklace still in her hands. This evil little necklace that had done something terrible to them. "Alright. Now. We just have to assess the situation-"

"We are in the past." Lily interrupted. "Situation: assessed."

"Lily-"

"No, look, Rose, we're here. We should accept that as fact. And from there we can start working on ways to get back."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"Well, I don't know, but it seems pretty fortuitous, doesn't it, that we show up and we have an excuse for being here?" Lily looked Rose straight in the eyes now. She seemed serious, and calm, though Rose didn't know how she could be either. "Clearly whoever sent you that necklace – I'm pretty sure it wasn't Scorpius now that, you know, time travel and all – anyway, whoever sent it to you wanted you to come here, didn't they? Like, exactly to this moment, 'here'. Because we turned away the real tutor and now you can take her place and we can… Well… I'm not exactly sure what we can do, but it all seems very coincidental, doesn't it? Like it was meant to happen, or something? I don't know. I'm just getting this feeling. Something tells me this is right."

Rose stared blankly at her cousin. Is that what she'd sounded like, every time she'd told Albus and Tandi that she just 'had a feeling' about Tom? Because it was very annoying, she now realized. Because whatever _feeling_ Lily had, Rose did not share it. She could not see the point in this, could not find the logic in being here, and had no clue what she was supposed to do now. Not to mention she had no possible idea who could have sent her that necklace. And whoever had sent it had meant for her and her alone to get it, that was certain, or else she would not have had to sign for it. So… Someone had wanted her to go back in time to- She wasn't exactly sure where in time she was. Before her parents were born, she figured. That certainly seemed pretty far back to her.

"They're sure taking a long time, aren't they…" Lily was looking up at the door.

"Are you in a rush to be somewhere?" Rose asked, looking sideways at her cousin.

"Well, no, I suppose not. But still. It's very rude. This Sirius bloke." She paused. "My dad's godfather, wasn't he? Isn't he? I'm confused about what tense to use."

"You'd know who your dad's godfather is or was better than me."

"No," Lily shook her head. "He doesn't really like to talk about it much. I know your parents share more with you while my dad's all about keeping the past in the past. Which can get quite annoying."

"Well, sorry, but I'm about as clueless as you are." Rose paused, then added. "But I know he's in the picture up on Albus' wall."

"That's why he looks so familiar! Yes!"

Just then the door cracked open again.

****

Hermione was exhausted, and let her briefcase drop from her hands the second she stepped into her apartment. She breathed out a sigh of relief, immensely glad to be home. She'd spent the entire day arguing against some inane elitist pureblood laws that had no business still being on the books. This whole process of changing old laws was so sticky, it made her look back on her days at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures fondly, which she'd never thought she'd say.

"'Mione, that you?" Her husband Ron's voice reached her from the kitchen. Oh no, she hoped he wasn't trying his hand at cooking again.

"Yeah," Hermione walked into the kitchen and hopped up to sit on the counter, something she'd always lectured her children never to do. "Long day."

"Really?" Ron was opening a bottle of wine. Bless him. "Thought you said it'd be easy going today-"

"That's what I thought. You'd be surprised, though, how much people cling to old laws, even when they are clearly discriminatory. 'It's tradition' I keep hearing. Tradition! As if that were a proper excuse for giving near a quarter of the population fewer rights! Tradition! Oh, thank you, that's wonderful."

Hermione gratefully accepted the glass of wine her husband handed her.

"Yeah," Ron nodded as he took a sip from his own glass. "Tradition my ass."

Hermione laughed. Her husband meant well.

"And how was your day?"

"Not bad," Ron shrugged. "Some of the new stock came in, and it's selling like mad, just like George predicted. Then James took off for a long lunch without telling anyone, so I spent my afternoon reaming him out, unfortunately."

"I don't want to say anything negative," Hermione said, knowingly shifting her voice into an authoritative tone, "but James could be a really good kid if he just got it together more."

"Mm," Ron agreed through a mouth full of wine. Then his eyes lit up and he put down his glass. "Oh! So James told me something actually, something about Rose."

"Yeah?" Hermione did her best to try not to look shocked at whatever would be said next while her innards buzzed. What about Rose? That Rose was mad at her? That she was why Rose wasn't coming home? That Rose was telling people now just what her mother had done-

"Apparently," Ron interrupted her thoughts, thankfully, "Rose has been taking all her meals over at Grimmauld Place lately."

"Really?" This did not actually surprise Hermione much. Her daughter was avoiding her, she knew that already.

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "So I think maybe she's out of money, or something, that she can't afford her own food. We should put some into that, what'd'ya call it?"

"Her debit account?"

"Yeah, that's it. Just to make sure she can get by. I know she's too proud to ask for anything herself. Hasn't even brought it up the couple of times we've gone to lunch together…"

Hermione winced at this. Rose was still seeing Ron, still visiting him at work and going to lunch with him and talking with him about her life. It was just her that their daughter was avoiding. And it was no wonder, really. Ron had never done anything wrong. He'd never erased their daughter's memory or kept a very serious secret for years on end.

"…so I'd put the money in myself, but they don't take galleons, do they? It's all that weird paper stuff-"

"I'll take care of it," Hermione interrupted him. "Don't worry."

"Good," Ron smiled as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I was starting to worry about our little Rosie. Can't all support themselves by playing professional Quidditch, can they?"

Ron laughed and finished his glass of wine before pouring himself another. Hermione was proud of her daughter, though, the way she had chosen to attend university. A Muggle university. And the top one at that. She wished Rose would forgive her. But she knew, in the back of her very practical mind, that that wasn't likely. So instead she finished her own glass of wine, swallowing in one big gulp, and then looking over at her husband.

"So, what are we going to do for dinner? Curry take away?"

****

At first it looked as if the door was opening of its own volition, but then Rose looked down and saw the familiar house elf there.

"Oh, hey Kreacher," she said, without thinking. The elf looked up at her, a scowl forming on his face.

"Wow," said a voice from the other side of the door. "You're good."

Rose looked up towards the voice, blushing, realizing that, of course, in the past, she had not met Kreacher before and would not know his name. Crap.

"I know father said he hired a Divination specialist, but usually I think all that stuff's just rubbish. You might prove me wrong."

Coming into view now as the door swung open wider was another boy. And this, Rose thought, must be the infamous Regulus Black. Tall and slim with dark hair and gray eyes he should have looked just like his brother, but instead he managed to look quite the opposite. He stood up straighter, his hair, kept much shorter than his brother's, was neatly combed and parted, and his robes, of the most traditional type, looked freshly pressed. He was also, Rose noticed, perhaps a little younger. But of course he would be. He was studying for his N.E.W.T.s.

His eyes scanned over Rose in the same cool manner that his brother's had done. She didn't like it.

"You must be Regulus," Rose said, sticking out her hand, but the boy merely looked at it, as if it held some disgusting and smelly piece of fish.

"Master Regulus, if you will," the boy said in the same cold voice. "I believe strictly in the propriety of employer-employee relations."

Rose narrowed her eyes. It was very easy for her to decide that she did not like 'Master' Regulus at all.

"Well… You may come in. Though in the future it'd be preferable if you used the service entrance." Regulus took a step back from the door and motioned for Kreacher to open the door wider, enough so that she and Lily could pass into the front hall.

"Wow," Rose heard Lily breathe as they stepped inside. And it was no wonder.

Rose had always been very used to the warm atmosphere that seemed to seep throughout the house on Grimmauld Place: the golden glow, the photographs of smiling faces, the persistent smell of cookies. This was nothing like that. It was almost as if she had just stepped into a different house entirely.

The room was very dark, and despite the fact that it was still quite sunny outside and the door was still open, no light seemed to be getting in. Instead, old fashioned silver lanterns burning green flames lined the walls and offered only a dim glow which tainted everything it touched and made Rose feel as if she was existing in some sort of nightmare. The photographs were gone. Instead, old paintings of unhappy looking witches and wizards, all either scowling or snoring, some doing both, took their place. And by the door, what appeared to be a severed and hollowed out troll leg was serving as an umbrella holder.

"Kreacher, please fetch the paperwork father left behind and bring it to the drawing room."

"Yes, Master Regulus," Kreacher gave a little bow as he shut the front door. "Kreacher will do as you ask."

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Regulus while he gave what was perhaps the warmest look Rose had yet seen on his face, though it still could not be called a smile exactly. Then Regulus turned to look at her. "Through here."

He immediately began walking towards what Rose had always known as the living room without any sort of pleasantries or chitchat as he walked. Rose followed, glaring at his back, while Lily was close at her heels. When they arrived in the drawing room –thanks to the Black family crest which had remained in tact all these years, the room looked fairly similar, if a little darker than what Rose was used to – Regulus sat down in an ornately carved dark wood chair and motioned to two much lesser, stooped chairs, for Lily and Rose. After they'd taken their seats, Regulus took a deep, sharp breath.

"Well, then, I suppose you're the tutor father has chosen for me and so it will be your duty to fully prepare me for my N.E.W.T. exams-"

"You don't have to say 'exams' after N.E.W.T." Rose interrupted.

"Excuse me?" Regulus cocked a thin eyebrow.

"It's redundant. N.E.W.T. already stands for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, so to add the word 'exams' to the end would make it Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests Exams, which would be redundant."

Rose watched as Regulus pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.

"Well, then, you've proven your point that you're qualified. Now, if you don't mind, in this household we much prefer if servants wait to speak until they are spoken to-"

"I'm not a servant," Rose interrupted again.

"Yes, you-"

"No," Rose shook her head. "I am your tutor. I am not your servant. And if you'd prefer if I wasn't your tutor, then that'd be just fine too." Next to her she heard Lily give a squeak. "Though," Rose began to add, only for Lily's sake, "you'd really be much better off having me as your tutor. I really am the absolute tops."

"I'm sure you are," Regulus said, also speaking through gritted teeth, "I know father would hire none but the best. Still, insubordination-"

"I'm not being insubordinate when I ask to be treated like a fellow human."

"You're acting very rudely-"

"Me? You're the one who's telling me when to speak and what to call you as if you're some great king and not a sixteen year old boy-"

"Seventeen," Regulus corrected. He was nearly standing now, so on edge was he, Rose noticed. "I was seventeen in March."

"Oh, well then." Rose rolled her eyes.

Just at this exact moment, Kreacher stepped into the room, carrying a roll of parchment, a quill still sitting in its inkpot floating along beside him.

"The papers," Regulus informed as Kreacher rolled the parchment out, holding it taught between his hands. "My father drew up all the necessary clauses after your last conversation with him. All that's needed is for you to sign." He flicked his hand and the inkpot slid through the air towards her. "Though, if I could ask, just before we make this official, what is your blood status?"

"My blood what?" Rose felt her face drop. This kind of behavior was appalling.

"Your blood status. What are you? Pureblood, half-blood, mud-blo-"

"She's half-blood." Lily filled in, answering for her. "And I'm pureblood. Your father wrote that down in the papers, didn't he, that Rose had another student this summer? Because I'm not about to give up studying with her, the great and wonderful Rose… Rose…" Lily fumbled, then looked down at the papers rolled out before her. According to the dotted line Rose would have to sign her name on, her name should be E. Mimieux. "Rose Mimieux."

"Short for Erosion Mimieux," Rose added hastily.

"Erosion?" Regulus lifted an eyebrow.

"My father's a geologist?" Rose filled in.

"Lovely, I'm sure," Regulus sighed, then pushed the inkpot towards her once more. "And I'm sure being a half-blood is tolerable if you're as good as you claim to be, so if you'd please just sign…"

Rose lifted the quill. Making a big show of tapping the tip, draining any extra ink, she hesitated before writing her name. Or her fake name. This was quite the commitment she was signing on to. Becoming the tutor of Regulus Black? It seemed ridiculous to her.

Kreacher coughed. His arms were probably straining to hold the parchment steady. Rose almost felt bad for him. Though not fully.

Finally, she pressed the quill down upon the parchment on the dotted line and signed her – fake – name. As soon as she lifted the quill up again, the parchment disappeared with 'poof' sound and a small cloud of dust rose, some getting into her throat and causing her to cough. Well, it was official now.

"Splendid," said Regulus in a tone that suggested it was not splendid. "And now you're my N.E.W.T.s tutor."

"Yes," Rose nodded. "I suppose I am."

"And since you are, and this is not insubordination but merely propriety talking, you should stop dressing that way. I understand you and your other pupil were trying to assimilate into Muggle London, but that outfit is wholly inappropriate for work."

Rose looked down at herself. She was wearing jeans and a fitted blue t-shirt. Not the height of fashion, certainly, but it was hardly scandalous. But then, she thought, this was the past. And when in the past, do as the past-ians do.

"Certainly," Rose nodded at him. "This get-up was only to fit in."

"I figured as much. Not even a half-blood would wear… that." With that, Regulus stood. Rose and Lily followed his lead. "So, I assume I shall see you tomorrow-"

"Alright," Rose nodded, not really knowing what that would mean for her quite yet. She would have to find a place to stay. No! She shouldn't- She should find a way to get back home is what she should be doing!

"And then tomorrow you'll move in your things."

"Alri- What?"

"You agreed to live here. It's in the contract you just- Oh, you're worried about your other student, I suppose?" Regulus surveyed Lily. He focused for perhaps a second too long on Lily's exposed legs. "Well, she can stay here too. Though her board'll come out of your pay."

"Deal," Lily said.

And Rose did not have the time to argue as Regulus and Kreacher were leading her and Lily back out into the entryway, and then pushing them back onto the front stoop.

"See you tomorrow. Ten o'clock sharp!" Were Regulus' parting words as he slammed the door in their faces.

"Not a pleasant fellow, is he?" Lily asked, looking at Rose.

"Lily…" Rose took a deep breath to keep herself from hyperventilating. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Lily shrugged. "Tutor him?"

"No! I mean, how are we going to get back home? How are we going to-"

"Look, Rose, as far as I can see it, we're not going home until that necklace of yours takes us there. So you may as well adjust, for now. At least we have a place to stay. Well. We will tomorrow. Tonight… I don't know… We can always get a room at the Leaky Cauldron, right?"

"Lily, you are being far too accepting of very bizarre circumstances right now-"

"I don't know about that. It just feels right, you know? Like we're meant to be here." Lily smiled at Rose. Rose frowned back at her. No, she didn't know. No, this didn't feel right. "So, off to the Leaky Cauldron?"

Before they could even leave the stoop, though, the front door was opening again.

"Oh, you two're still here?" Sirius, looking the exact opposite of his brother with his shaggy hair down in front of his eyes, bedecked in tattered, yet obviously stylish, Muggle clothing, stepped out onto the stoop.

"Yeah," Lily nodded. "Just finished our 'interview' with your wanker brother."

At this, Sirius smiled.

"What'd you say your names were again?" Sirius asked, obviously ingratiated towards them now.

"Well, this is Rose," Lily nodded at her, "and I'm Li-"

"Luna." Rose finished, spitting out Lily's middle name. "She's Liluna. But she just goes by 'Luna' for short." Lily was looking at Rose confused, but Rose knew her cousin would thank her later. "And we're actually about to head off-"

"Oh yeah?" Sirius said, skipping down the steps backwards so he could keep them in his sights. "Where to?"

"To get a room at-" Rose began.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Lily finished.

"Well, what do you know? What a coincidence! I was just headed to the Leaky Cauldron myself."

"Really?" Lily asked, smiling. Rose did not feel so happy herself.

"Yeah, to meet up with my best mates. I wonder if…" Sirius pursed his mouth as if he were just thinking now, though Rose was sure, as soon as she saw that look, that Sirius had been considering this possibility for some time. "I wonder if you'd like to come with me. Have some fun tonight. Before you begin your sentence at the Black household."

"Sounds great!" Lily said brightly, and skipped down the steps so that she was standing with Sirius on the sidewalk. "Rose? Doesn't that sound great?"

"I don't know…"

"But doesn't it sound like just the best _coincidence_ that Sirius was going to meet his friends just now at the same place we were headed to?" Lily's look was pointed. "Like a _meant to be_ kind of thing?"

"I'm not sure about that-"

"Come on!" Sirius said cheerfully. "One night of fun won't kill you, surely."

Rose looked from Sirius, with his scheming smile, to Lily, who was almost jumping out her skin silently begging Rose to go along with this.

"Fine," Rose said, finally coming down off the steps and onto the sidewalk. "Fine."

"Great!" Sirius whooped. "We can take my bike!" He paused as Rose frowned again. "I _think_ it can fit three people."

****

The ride had been hell. Really. If Rose believed in hell, which she didn't, and if she imagined it, which she never had before, it would be that ride on the back of Sirius Black's motorbike. Lily, of course, had been excited by the whole thing, and had been shrieking with excitement the entire way from Grimmauld Place to the Leaky Cauldron. Rose had been clinging on for dear life.

When they'd finally arrived at the familiar storefront, Rose had never been so happy to see a place in her life. Giddy from being able to stand, on two feet, in one place, once more, she'd merely laughed as Sirius led them into the pub and told them that they were the first to arrive.

"You two can scope out a table, I'll get drinks. You like firewhiskey?"

"Yeah!" Lily exclaimed before Rose could come to her senses. So Sirius headed off to order while Lily and Rose fought their way through a crowd – she'd never seen the Leaky Cauldron this busy – to a tipsy wooden table in a dark corner.

"Liluna?" Lily asked simply once they were seated.

"Well we couldn't say your name was 'Lily,' could we?" Rose looked at her cousin's blank expression. "He already said you look familiar! And chances are you look familiar because you look like your namesake! And it'd be just too odd if there were two similar looking Lilys around, wouldn't it?"

"Huh…" Lily said, shrugging. "I hadn't thought of it like that. Do you think I'll get to meet her?"

Rose frowned.

"I hope not." Then she saw Lily's dour expression and decided to explain herself. "I mean, I hope we're back home soon."

Just then, Sirius walked over to them, four rather large glasses of amber liquid in his hands.

"Bottoms up!" He said as he slammed the glasses down on the table. Then he picked up one glass and tilted it into his mouth. Just as Rose had been about to ask who the fourth glass was for, Sirius finished his drink, pushed it to the side, and claimed one of the fresh ones. Well, that was good planning on his part. "My friends should be here soon. You'll like them. I can tell. You mentioned James Potter before, didn't you? Well he'll be along soon." Sirius took a sip from his new glass. "How do you know of James Potter?"

"I-" Lily jumped in. "I've heard of him before. Told Rose. I think he's a distant cousin of mine, maybe?"

"What's your last name?" Sirius asked, inquisitorially.

"Weasley-Granger?" Lily phrased it as a question. Rose practically snorted up the first sip of her drink. Lily was going to steal her name?

"Well," Sirius began after another gulp. "I don't know any Grangers, but I know of a couple of Weasleys… Seem like a good lot… I bet they're probably related to the Potters. All the pureblood families are crossed somehow, aren't they? Ah!" He turned his head towards the door. "Here they come now!"

Sirius began waving his arm in a big showy fashion at the three boys standing in the doorway. Rose could tell immediately which one of them was James Potter. He looked nearly exactly like Albus, and like her Uncle Harry, with his dark messy hair and glasses. The other two boys she couldn't identify right away. They both looked familiar. She figured she had seen them before. In the photograph hanging on Albus' wall. Yes. Here they were, incarnate. It was very odd.

They approached, not realizing, of course, how odd their presence was.

"Rose, Liluna, this is James, and Remus, and Peter." Sirius did not bother pointing out which of his friends was which, leaving Rose to wonder, beyond James, who was who. "They're all absolute sods."

"Now that's not true," James hit Sirius soundly on the back. In this dimly lit room he looked so much like Albus it was very odd having to remind herself that this was not her cousin. "Everyone knows you're the real-"

"Now now, no harsh words." Sirius cut him off. "There are ladies present."

"Ah, of course." And James turned, seamlessly, so that he was facing Rose and Lily. "Nice to meet you-"

"Rose," Rose filled in for him, as she stretched out her hand.

"And it's just Luna, for short," Lily said, echoing Rose's motions.

"Luna… You know, you look just like-"

"Eh, none of that tonight, Prongs, we're all single and having a good time tonight." Sirius took another deep swallow of his drink and this time finished it off. "Now, who wants to accompany me to the bar to buy a round?"

James and the shorter of the two other boys agreed to go with Sirius, and soon the three of them disappeared. Meanwhile, the remaining boy sat down at the table with them.

"Sorry if my friend's been rude to you at all," the boy said in a very gentle voice, almost too soft to be heard over the bustling crowds. He rested his elbows on the table, and almost as soon as they did, the table wobbled. "Oh, tipsy table, is it?"

"It's all we could find," Rose said to explain herself.

"Well, it's not that bad," the boy shrugged. "Looking at the crowds, I suppose if Sirius hadn't found pretty girls to claim us a table we'd've been left standing." Then the boy blushed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude-"

"Since when is it rude to call us pretty?" Lily interrupted him.

"I- I just don't want to overstep my bounds." The boy looked down at the table. He was blushing. "I'm Remus, by the way, in case you couldn't tell. Sirius doesn't have knack for introductions."

"Lovely to meet you, Remus," Rose said. It had clicked in her brain just this moment that this was the father of Teddy, the husband of her cousin Victoire.

"So, uh… How'd you meet Sirius?"

"Rose's tutoring his brother," Lily said.

"Really?" Remus looked over at Rose. "He's kind of a prat, you know."

"I have discovered that," Rose nodded.

"Well then, as long as you're aware." Remus smiled at the two of them. He had a very nice smile, and when he smiled liked that he looked very much like his son. Which was difficult to say, in general, as Teddy typically changed his appearance by the hour. But there was something in the stretch of the smile across the face, the warmth, and something in the eyes, that reminded Rose very sharply of Teddy. This familiarity ingratiated her instantly towards Remus.

"So, Remus…" Rose looked at the boy. "What do you do for a living?"

"I… Er… I'm in a bit of tight spot right now, actually-"

"Drinks! Drinks!" Right at that moment Sirius and his friends returned, each holding several more glasses of firewhiskey than seemed necessary. "Drinks all around!"

Sirius sat down at the table, shifting his chair so that it was very close to Lily. He pushed a glass in front of her, though her own was not yet empty, and then flung his arm around her and pulled her into a side hug. It made very Rose very uncomfortable to watch.

"You're worried about your friend?" Remus spoke in a quiet voice, leaning in so that only she could hear. Rose nodded. "Don't worry. He's harmless. Really." He must have seen the still concerned look on her face, though, because then Remus picked up a glass and raised it high, forcing, through his action, the other boys to mirror him and do the same, so that soon Sirius' arm was in the air rather than around Lily. "I would like to propose a toast! To our new friends!"

"To our new friends!" The boys and Lily echoed.

"And to our old friends!" James added on.

"And to our old friends!" The boys repeated. And then they drank.

"Oh, come on, Rosie. You're job doesn't start until tomorrow, right, may as well have one night of fun?" Sirius was smiling at her. A broad, handsome smile.

Well, Rose thought, if nothing else, tonight could be an interesting experience. A chance to learn about people she'd only ever read about before. Educational, really. And there was nothing wrong with enjoying an educational experience, was there?

And with that, Rose picked up one of the free glasses on the table and raised it to her lips.

"Cheers," she said, and opened her mouth, and poured the burning liquid down her throat.

After all, she could drink them under the table at college, so surely she'd be able to do the same here? Right?

****

The moon was very bright, Rose thought. Very bright and pretty in the past. She wondered if anything had happened, to the atmosphere maybe, or something, the ozone or whatever it was that was always talked about, to make it less pretty where she was from. When she was from. She'd barely thought about that for a while. She hiccupped. She was having a very nice time this evening. All educational. Sure.

"That better?" Remus was standing next to her. Closer than next to her. She was leaning on him, really.

"Yeah," she nodded. Or she tried to. It came out more like a mumble. Just how much firewhiskey had she had? She hiccupped again. Remus laughed. "What're you laughin' at?"

"Nothing," he said, but his body still vibrated with the laughs he was now trying to suppress. She could feel it as she leaned against him.

His body was very strong. Surprisingly strong. He'd look fairly slim, fairly worn, but he was very strong. And his arm was coming around her shoulder now. And it was holding her tighter. Rose felt very warm. The moon was very pretty this evening.

"Moon," Rose said. She tried to point up, but it didn't work. "Nice."

Remus gave a grunt. She felt it. Did he not like the moon? She wondered. But who wouldn't like the moon?

The air felt very sharp and fresh, exactly what she'd needed after sitting inside the very crowded tavern for nearly… She'd heard chimes, recently, indicating it was midnight. And she'd arrived around what time? She wasn't sure. But she'd been there a while now. And it was nice to get out of there, and to stand in the short brick passage between the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. It seemed very familiar, comfortingly so, back here. And yet it also felt very different. Because the moon seemed so different. And because Remus' arm was around her. Remus, who was dead now. But she couldn't think of that. If she started thinking of that she would cry, she knew it. She couldn't think of Teddy, either. That would also make her cry. And she couldn't think of-

"Are you crying?"

"No," Rose brought her hands up to her face and tried to wipe away the tears that had been forming. "Just allergies, I guess. And the moon. The moon is just so beautiful."

Again she felt Remus vibrate with laughter he couldn't contain. And this made Rose laugh as well. She was laughing, quite enjoying herself, when the shorter boy, Peter, walked up to Remus. He punched him in the side.

"Gonna get lucky Moony?" Peter asked in his clipped nasal voice. Remus, Rose was glad to see, punched him back. "Ow!" Peter exclaimed, but then he sulked away.

"Never mind him," Remus said. "I love my friends, but they can be prats."

"Uh huh," Rose nodded, unable to express any deeper thoughts. She wanted to. She wanted to tell Remus that he was definitely not going to get lucky – though she figured he did not expect to as he had not actually hit on her all night – and she wanted to tell him thank you for punching Peter and she wanted to cry some more over his fatherless son, but instead all she could do was just barely open her mouth and just hardly push out sound. "Uh huh."

But while she was incapable of expressing herself, Rose was totally aware. Possibly even hyper-aware. Everything seemed crystalline clear to her right in this moment. Like the moon, for example, which was glowing so sharply. And like the air, which felt so crisp and fresh against her face. And like the sound of Lily's giggling, which punctured the silence and echoed off the bricks. Lily's giggling. Oh no. Rose had almost forgotten her cousin, so comfortable she had become.

It took nearly all her effort for Rose to turn her head. There, at the far reaches of her periphery, tucked into a corner in between rubbish bins, was Sirius with both of his arms around Lily, whose head was thrown back as silver peals of laughter erupted from her throat. Rose could not hear what Sirius was saying, not even with her hyper-senses, but she could see that his face was drawing closer and closer to her cousin's.

"That," Rose tried to move her head in Lily's direction. "Stop that."

Remus followed Lily's glance.

"Well…" He looked down at the ground. "I mean, it looks like your friend is having a good time…"

"No." Rose said, this time with more force behind her word. "I've gotta- It's weird-"

And she took a step forward, out of the comfort and safety of Remus' grasp. She had to keep one hand against the brick wall to keep herself stable.

"No!" She called, louder, as she approached her cousin. "That is- That is a very bad idea-"

Her words were coming out more slurred than she intended, but she was glad to see that she was gaining her cousin's attention anyway. Lily looked up at her. She looked somewhat displeased.

"Rose…" Lily began, but her speech sounded off as well, and the name sounded gurgled, from the back of the throat.

"You should know better," Rose tried to say. It came out: 'Yeew shoe node butter.' But Rose could not focus on her vocal inaccuracies, because just as she spoke, she lurched forward, and her right foot got trapped on a cobblestone and she began to tilt forward, her arm incapable of finding the stone wall now. She was going to hit the ground, she saw it happening, and yet she was incapable of stopping it-

"Alright," Remus took a step forward, his arm reaching around Rose's waist, catching her before she toppled over. "I think we should call it a night."

"Moony…" Sirius moaned.

"I think we should, Padfoot."

Sirius sighed, unhappily, and shut up his eyes, and uttered a curse word, but still, he took a step back from Lily, his arms falling to his sides.

"Fine," he said, finally. "Fine."

"Good," Rose smiled. She knew she must look half insane. She could feel her eyes, heavy from liquor and adventure, closing. Still, she looked over at her cousin, expecting some sort of congratulation for saving the day. Instead, Lily just frowned at her.

"James and I can get you home," Remus said, trying to break the tension. "Where do you live?"

"Nowhere," Lily said, crankily. But Rose noticed that her eyes were also almost shut.

"Alright… Then…" Remus shrugged, Rose could feel it, the rippling of his body against hers. She also felt him turn his head, to look at something or someone she supposed, and then he turned back. "You can stay with James and I for the night."

"'S alright-" Rose began, intending to argue her way out of this, to say that they'd really be better off renting a room, but before she could make her case, she was being led back inside, towards the fireplace.

"Just hold on, alright?" Remus was saying as he guided her into the green flames. "I'll get us there."

"But-" Rose began. But before she was finished they were already off, spinning, his arms wrapped around her, through space.

When at last they landed, Rose could barely gauge that her feet were on solid ground again, so dizzy was she. She followed Remus out of the fireplace. They were somewhere dark. It was very dark. Or it was just night and all the lights were off. She couldn't tell. Her head hurt terribly. She was so dizzy. Her insides were still spinning. It was awful. Awful. She just wanted it to stop. She bent forward without wanting to, her upper body just no longer able to support itself. She bent over, felt her hands grasp her knees, felt her head come down between her legs, felt all the blood rush into her skull. She didn't feel good. Not at all.

"Here," Remus' voice echoed over her. He was trying to lead her somewhere, trying to move her. But she didn't want to move. She didn't want to do anything. She just wanted to- She just wanted to-

She felt her entire body wretch. And with that, Rose vomited all over the floor, and Remus' shoes.


End file.
